California IN BRIEF : MODESTO : Jury in Murder Case Urges Death Penalty

A man convicted of first-degree murder along with felony counts of conspiracy and solicitation of murder should be sentenced to death, a Superior Court jury in Modesto recommended. Alfredo Padilla, 32, will be sentenced by Judge Hugh Rose III on Jan. 12, nearly a year after he was convicted of hiring the murder of Esther Alvarado, 22, who was shot twice with a shotgun and once with a small-caliber gun. The prosecution contended Alvarado was killed because Padilla and his girlfriend, Brenda Prado, thought she had stolen some heroin. Prado is scheduled for trial Feb. 16 on charges of murder, solicitation of murder and conspiracy. No trial date has been set for a third defendant, Jesse Hernandez, who is accused of being the hired killer. The name Jesse was scrawled in the mud near where Alvarado’s body was was found Jan. 5, 1987.